- New scholarships for EU students and lower visa fees for
academics needed to maintain competitiveness.
- Calls for more Scottish representation on research funding
body UKRI.
- The Turing Scheme to cover inward placements for
international students and academics, not just outward UK
students.
- Reductions in overseas aid spending should not lead to
reductions in UK research spending.
- Improved collaboration and engagement needed in reserved
areas where there are impacts for higher education in Scotland.
Improved collaboration and engagement required to help the sector
through the joint impacts of Covid and Brexit. In a wide ranging
report on the impact of reserved decisions on Scottish
universities, the latest Scottish Affairs Committee report on
Universities and Scotland recommends that the programme replacing
the EU’s Erasmus+ scheme should be expanded to provide funding
for placements for inward bound international students and cover
opportunities for academic staff.
The Committee examined the challenges facing the higher education
sector in Scotland. While responsibility for higher education in
Scotland rests with the Scottish Government, UK Government
actions in policy areas it controls, such as immigration and
visas, can have a big impact on the sector.
Current plans for the UK Government’s Turing Scheme will see £110
million made available to fund 35,000 UK students per year to
study abroad. MPs on the Committee welcomed the Scheme, but noted
“with regret” it does not currently support UK placements for
international students. This could have knock-on effects for
local economies that benefit from spending by students from
abroad.
A similar concern highlighted by the report was the 40% reduction
in applicants wanting to study at Scottish universities from the
EU for the 2021-22 academic year. EU students fill “difficult to
recruit for” STEM subjects and are more likely to enter academia
or research following graduation than other international
counterparts. The slide in EU student numbers should be
addressed, the Committee said, in part by introducing a new or
expanded scholarship scheme attracting EU students to the UK and
Scotland.
MPs on the Committee praised the UK Government’s introduction of
the Post-study work visa for playing a ‘key role in attracting,
and retaining’, the best students from abroad. They also welcomed
the Global Talent visa but pointed out that it comes at a high
cost, which could act as a disincentive to attracting
international academics. The report urged the Government to bring
down the cost of the visa to competitive levels.
The report also calls for a shake-up of the UK-wide funding body
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It says that Scottish academic
research institutions “deserve appropriate recognition and
influence” in line with the contribution they will be making to
the post-pandemic recovery. The Committee called on the Secretary
of State for Business to improve the representation of Scottish
universities on the UKRI board. The Scottish Funding Council
should also have a seat on the UKRI Executive Committee, a
decision which is at the discretion of UKRI’s CEO. The report
highlights the sector’s concerns about the impact of reductions
in UK overseas aid spending on UKRI funding, up to 70% in some
estimates, and urges the Government to stick to the financial
commitments it made in its R&D roadmap.
On publication of the Committee’s report, Chair of the Scottish
Affairs Committee said, “This is a crunch time for Scottish
universities and improved collaboration and engagement on
reserved issues is the key to ensuring the wellbeing of our
university sector.
The reputation of Scottish universities and the research they
conduct is nothing short of world class. But they face challenges
made more difficult by Brexit and coronavirus. Getting the
policies impacting them right will help them through this rough
patch and strengthen the foundations of higher education and
research.
The UK Government’s ambitions to make the UK a “science
superpower” will be boosted by creating a friendlier climate for
students and researchers from abroad. They offer new ideas, new
ways of thinking and enhance the cultural experience at our
universities. To demand they pay more than 10 times as much cash
as our competitors to relocate is self-defeating. If we are
serious about maintaining competitiveness, the UK Government
should introduce a new scholarship for EU staff and students,
reduced visa fees, stick to its commitments on research spending
and expand the Turing exchange scheme.
It’s also time to address disparities on the UK’s main research
funding body. English universities and funding bodies are already
embedded into UK Research & Innovation. The fear is that the
lack of Scottish representation makes it more difficult to align
the priorities of the Scottish institutions with UKRI. We want to
see the deserved and rightful representation of Scottish higher
education achieved by the inclusion of positions for a Scottish
university and the Scottish Funding Council on UKRI
decision-making bodies.”